Maybe
by aduroDawg
Summary: Maybe Leo was right when he said Emma didn't belong in the hospital, but maybe he wasn't. Canon up to 01x04 ; Hinted Sexy&Rexi pairing ; One-shot.


A/N: Maybe Leo was right when he said Emma didn't belong in the hospital, but maybe he wasn't. Canon up to 01x04 ; Hinted Sexy&amp;Rexi pairing ; One-shot.

Disclaimer: Red Band Society does not belong to me.

Maybe Leo was right. Maybe he wasn't. Maybe she would never know. This was all that could pass through Emma's mind as she stared down at her phone, eyes flicking up to her untouched food every other second. She had just seen, just barely tasted, the life of a normal girl last night. And if Leo was indeed right, then she could grasp it quite easily.  
Pushing her tray of food aside, she began to look at the pictures more closely. The other two girls she was at the dance last night with seemed so cheerful, albeit completely misled, and even the consideration that she had enjoyed most of last night had her confused.  
Ever since she had come to the hospital, everything had taken on a strange normal-ness that she had lacked before. She had even finally found friends- some that she didn't dislike, at that. But judging from the girls' reactions to her at the dance, she could possibly find that elsewhere.  
So consumed by her wandering mind, Emma completely forgot about the tray of untouched food on the table in front of her. She stood and walked away as the food continued to grow cold.

Just as Emma reached her room, Nurse Jackson reached her.  
"Emma, you didn't eat a single bite. You haven't eaten since yesterday morning. Come on, sweetie, just eat a little," the nurse said, looking at the girl with worry.  
"I'm fine. I have some food in my room, I promise I'll eat some. I just didn't want any from the cafeteria."  
Nurse Jackson nodded, but stood still outside Emma's room. Emma glared at the door and walked in, while the nurse continued to stand outside, watching, but not intruding. Emma picked up a small apple off the plate and pressed it to her lips, before turning it around to show the bite mark to Nurse Jackson. Satisfied, the older woman began to walk away. Once Emma was sure the nurse was gone, she put the fake apple down and pulled her phone back up. Quietly, she sat down and began to text her newfound friends.

Two days later, the same cycle had been continued. However, now Emma brought the fake apple to her table to avoid too much suspicion. She was beginning to feel tired at random points in the day, her mind felt lost at times. Her friends were beginning to notice it, and it had started becoming harder to cover up- mostly when the fatigue hit her.  
She was walking down the hall to her room with Leo, when one of the sweeps of exhaustion hit her hard. Emma paused in her conversation, pressing a hand to her head as her mind tried to mend the sudden lack of concentration.  
"Emma? You okay?" Leo asked, concern evident in his voice. She nodded, shutting her eyes in an effort to regain focus. The last thing she heard was Leo yelling her name as she toppled over and her mind went blank.

"C'mon, Emma, you gotta be okay," someone said. She couldn't make it out exactly, but it sounded like one of her friends in the hospital. Some kind of remembrance of her surroundings flowed through her, and a small hope of who the voice belonged to.  
"...Leo?" she asked, straining her eyes against the bright light.  
"Uh, no, it's Jordi. Shit, wait, I gotta tell Nurse Jackson you're awake," Jordi said, standing up and smiling at Emma.  
She refused to allow the disappointment into her, and instead managed a smile back at him.  
Minutes passed before Jordi came back into the room, Nurse Jackson right on his heels. By this point, Emma had taken notice of the tubes stuck into her wrist and had to repress a feeling of nausea.  
"What are these? How long was I asleep? What even happened to me?" she asked, only receiving a look of sympathy in return.  
"You've been asleep for about three days. Those tubes are supplements and IV tubes, and... Emma, your heart has begun to shut down," Nurse Jackson quickly noticed the look of terror on Emma's face. "With the help of those tubes, you have a good chance of making it. Your body is trying to save itself, but it's been deprived of any source of nutrition for too long to be any help to itself."  
Emma nodded, eyes staring straight at the wall.  
Nurse Jackson glanced about, and then began to step out.  
Jordi stayed, and frustratedly said, "What the hell?"  
Emma glanced up and asked, "What?"  
"You just... it's so stupid. You could've- still could -die, because of your own choice!"  
"It's not that simple, Jordi!"  
"Yes, it is! If you didn't choose to starve yourself, you'd be fine!" he began to grow louder, frustration and panic tingeing his tone.  
"Uh. Am I intruding on something?" Emma turned her head to see Leo, supported by a crutch, looking at Jordi with irritation.  
Jordi shook his head. "No, it's fine. I'll go."  
Leo took Jordi's place next to her bed, and cautiously took one of Emma's hands.  
"Hey," he said.  
"Hi."  
"Are you alright?" he asked. Just as Emma went to respond, he said quickly, "Never mind, that was a stupid question."  
"Yeah, it was," she said, looking at his face.  
"Look, I'm sorry. For what I said before. About you not needing to be here. I didn't want this to happen, I didn't know it would."  
She smiled and pulled him down for a hug.  
"It's okay. Maybe you were right. Maybe you weren't. Either way, it's my own fault I'm in here," she said.  
"No, I was wrong, I know you. You wouldn't do this if you didn't feel like you have to," Leo said, pulling her tighter.  
Emma tried to hide her disbelief as she said, "Yeah. Maybe."  
Maybe Leo was right. Maybe he wasn't. Maybe she would never know.


End file.
